Is enjoying the world without attachment really possible?

Some people believe that this world is a beautiful creation by God and as such, we should celebrate it, enjoy it. Among these people, those who are more seriously spiritually inclined, say that while doing so, one should not get attached to the world. So, in other words, one may enjoy good things in this world if and when they come our way; but one should not desire them or miss them if they are not available. In the same manner, one should not resent bad things of this world. Let the bad experiences come and go in their own time.

The above view seems appealing at first. But I have some reservations in that regard which are as follows and I would like a good debate on them for my enlightenment –

Is enjoyment of good things without attachment really possible? The moment we use the words like “enjoy/celebrate”, it means we get pleasure out of that particular thing. It indicates something that our mind has classified as “good and desirable.” It also means that our mind has some other things that it has classified as “bad and undesirable.

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” This is duality and then how can true spirituality come about in this duality of “good and bad”, “desirable and undesirable?” Yes; true spirituality can exist even in duality; but that duality can be only at the physical level and not at the mental level. In other words, our mind should not feel good when good experience comes our way and it should not feel bad if bad experiences come our way. That is the equanimity that Shrimad Bhagawad Gita recommends so strongly. So, to my mind, this boils down to letting different experiences come our way but not judging them as good / bad / desirable / undesirable. So, in effect, we should be indifferent to this world and hence the terms like enjoyment, celebration are not the right words if we value equanimity.

If some of us still disagree and say that it is possible to “enjoy” the world without getting attached to it, it is quite likely that these people may then be simply taking an intellectual position of detachment. In other words, they may be indulging in a kind of self-deception while enjoying good things but telling themselves, “I am not enjoying and it does not matter if this good experience ceases and if it never comes my way again and I won’t miss it etc.” So, if one subscribes to this view of enjoying with detachment, one will have to be very careful and assess if indeed his mind is truly indifferent to the experience.

Pains and pleasures out of the so-called “good and bad experiences” is like an oscillating pendulum. When it goes to the one end of pleasure, it also goes to the other end of pain. Take the example of chocolates. One who is not detached, feels good when he eats chocolates and at that time his mental state is at one extreme. But he also often craves for chocolates and at those times, his mental state is one of craving which is at the other extreme. Now consider a self-proclaimed detached person. S/He may say that I like chocolates but I don’t miss them even if I don’t have them for months. I don’t crave for them ever. Does it indicate true equanimity? My view is, probably not. The reason is that it indicates that the pendulum oscillates only between the central point and one extreme! It does not go to the other extreme!! Is that kind of a phenomenon possible? No. Even if this example is consider inappropriate, it still means our mental state does move up and down, if only within a narrower range, as compared to an attached person. But it still does not mean a total equanimity. A total equanimity means absolutely no movement of the mind, like a lamp put inside a glass casing where the flame is absolutely steady since there is no air current inside.

In Shrimad Bhagawad Gita, Shri Krishna says that all sense experiences are binding in the sense that they are bound to create an impression on our mind. For example, if we eat jaggery without knowing, it still tastes sweet. In other words, a sense experience even without attachment, still creates a mental impression. That is why Shri Krishna strongly advises that a yogi should not let his “indriyas” come in contact with their respective “vishayas”. This means that a yogi should not indulge in actions that will please or pain his senses.

Indulging in a sense experience but not being attached to it is akin to trying to cross the river while still holding onto the bank!

Any action that causes one or more of our senses to perceive the relative experience is like fuel added to the fire. How can a fire get extinguished if fuel keeps getting added to it?

Sage Vasishtha tells Shri Ram in “Yoga Vasishtha” that this world is utterly illusory and hence one should not judge it at all. While being embodied in this world, one may indulge in “shubha karma” that is actions appropriate to the situation as per “shastras” (or let me say, in god-consciousness) without any thought as to the outcome of the actions. In other words, we are advised not to evaluate the world and the experiences in it – be completely indifferent to it. Or, put in still some different words, we should let our “karmendriyas” (organs for external physical action) work, but avoid, to the extent possible, feeding our “dnyanedriyas” (the sense centres in our brain). And that, to my mind, is vairagya. It is one step ahead of simple detachment – while detachment does not avoid experiences being fed to the “dnyanendriyas”, vairagya means avoiding that also.